InsaneJournal

[WHO] Alicia Spinnet & Open
[WHEN] 10 February 1998; early afternoon
[WHERE] Diagon Alley; heading out from the Ministry HQ
[WHAT] She was sent home early from work.
[RATING] PG?
[STATUS] Open / Incomplete


It had been a dreadfully long week, and frankly Alicia was spent. The Ministry had their hands full with the issues at Gringott's, so naturally her department took the backseat. If only that meant her job could've been easier. She had so many files to sort through, anything from trade with China to intercultural relations with the United States. Luckily she wasn't expected to jump from one extreme to the next. However, with Tibbets left in charge for the remainder of her boss' holiday, Alicia was feeling the pressure. She was quite certain anything Tibbets didn't want to deal with got left on her desk, and the file in question at the moment involved a couple facing immigration from Indonesia.

Her eyes were heavy from lack of sleep. After all, work didn't exactly end when she went home. There was so much to sort through because Tibbets would let it pile up before handing it off to Ali. It was virtually impossible to sort through in the course of 40-hour week. Too bad she didn't get paid overtime for the work done at home! Finally giving in to her weariness, the young woman's head slunk down into her hands. "Five minutes. Just a quickie," she told herself quietly, making herself as comfortable as possible.

Five minutes became an hour, though she wouldn't have made it that far had her cubicle not been in the back corner of the room. "Spinnet, we don't pay you to sleep." Alicia recognized that voice all too well. Her head shot up as she wiped a piece of parchment from her face.

"Piss off, Tibbets. You and I both know you don't pay me shit. Ernie writes my checks." She loved that he had no ability to fire her regardless of the fact he was her stand-in boss at the moment.

"Yeah, we'll see how many more of those you get when he hears about you laying down on the job."

There was perhaps no one in the world who got under her skin like Tibbets. Her eyes narrowed at him, but she was at a loss when it came to witty comebacks. Luckily another higher up entered into her office to talk to Tibbets only to find Alicia in her worn state. "Elliot, there was a problem with... For the love of Merlin, you look miserable," she voiced in a concerned manner, Alicia forcing a smile and shrug as she began to finger through the case files again. The older witch walked over to her and closed up the manila envelope, giving Ali a stern look. "Go home, Spinnet. Get some sleep. Your cases will still be here tomorrow." The lady knew Alicia was usually the last to go home, and sometimes worked off the clock while remaining at work (illegal, yes, but necessary).

She wanted to argue, but knew it was pointless. Besides the look on Tibbets' face was too priceless. "Thanks, Aggy," she murmured, sliding back from her desk and reaching for her jumper. "I owe you."

"Don't mention it, sweetie."

Alicia had no doubt her files would be doubled by the time she returned tomorrow, but decided she wouldn't force herself to think about that now. Zipping up her puffy jumper, she made her way out of the Ministry headquarters and into Diagon Alley. A quick coffee and maybe a bite to eat before heading home would be just the ticket.